| 16. Linguistic Exegesis The sentence begins with nēsion {νησίον | nē-sí-on} ‘small island’, followed by de {δέ | dé} as a mild narrative connector and ti {τι | tí} ‘a certain’ to introduce an unspecified location. The aorist participle hypodramontes {ὑποδραμόντες | hypo-dra-MÓN-tes} ‘having run under’ sets the temporal scene of sailing under the island’s lee. The participle kaloumenon {καλούμενον | ka-LOU-me-non} ‘called’ specifies the island’s name as Cauda. The main verb ischysamen {ἰσχύσαμεν | is-CHÝ-sa-men} ‘we managed’ is intensified by molis {μόλις | MÓ-lis} ‘with difficulty’ to convey the struggle. The infinitive genesthai {γενέσθαι | ge-NÉS-thai} ‘to become’ combines with perikrateis {περικρατεῖς | pe-ri-kra-TEÎS} ‘in control’, forming the object of ischysamen and indicating mastery. The genitive skaphes {σκάφης | ská-phēs} ‘boat’ identifies the vessel over which control is gained. |